Dominique Nugent

Wednesday, 7 March 2018

Looking forward to the arrival of Spring I decided to shoot some spring time looks for the blog. Spring/ Summer is my favourite time of the year and I love adding some colourful pieces to my wardrobe.

I picked this full outfit from River island and think all the pieces work well together but I know they will also work as individual statement pieces too. I actually fell in love with the shoes, the colour will give a pop to the plainest of outfits. I'm also all about these new cropped jeans, the fit is really flattering and I feel like they will work if you are short or tall.

This is a look that can work well for lots of occasions I'm thinking Communions, Confirmations or afternoon tea or drinks with the girls.

The blazer and jeans trend is something that I really like as its not as formal as a full suit that you might feel like you need a wedding or proper engagement to wear it to.

Sunday, 3 December 2017

So I arrived back from Budapest last night and had lots of requests for a blog post on it so thought I would get it done as soon as possible while its still fresh in my mind. I got the trip for Damien as a birthday present so I booked our flights with Aer Lingus back in August. We take a trip around this time every year as I love the Christmas markets and we like to get a little time to ourselves before the mad Christmas rush begins here. Last year we visited Prague which I also have a post on if anybody is looking for some information on there. We went for 5 nights and 6 days which was plenty of time, 3 - 4 days would definitely be enough if you wanted to do it in a shorter time.

Where to stay...

I booked us an apartment in the 7seasons central suites on the pest side of Budapest.

This is the area you want to stay in, its where all the bars and restaurants are and a couple of the tourist attractions. We have never stayed in an apartment on a city break before but seen as this one was going to be a bit longer than usual I wanted a bigger space for us. The location was ideal, we were within walking distance of nearly everywhere we went. Our apartment was spacious and beautifully decorated and they were cleaned every day. I booked on booking.com as I always find they give the best deals.

How to get around..

On our first day we bought hop on hop off bus tour tickets which included a boat cruise down the river Danube. We were within walking distance of nearly every where we went but was nice to see the landmarks from the open top bus ( even though it was utterly baltic). If you are central I would probably skip the bus and just walk around or use their tram system instead.

Where to go...

First stop has to be the christmas markets. There are two different locations for the markets, one at the end of fashion street and the other in front of St. Stephens Basilica. These markets are one of the main reasons we chose to visit Budapest. They go all out with stalls of food, drink and christmas decorations. In the evenings at the St Stephens Basilica they project a short Christmas video onto the building on the hour. Try the mulled wine and chimney cakes!!

Castle Hill

Take the Cable car ride up for some beautiful views of the river Danube and opposite side of the city. This is where Buda castle is located and is definitely a must see. For most of these places you can do guided walking tours to talk you through the history but we just strolled around ourselves. I had done a lot of research on the landmarks before I left and I like to take my time and take photos so thats why we didn't do one.

Fishermans Bastian

It is one of Budapests top attractions and once you visit it you will see why. With its panoramic views of Budapest and pretty architecture this is a must see and my favourite spot. From the foot of the steps it looks like the castle from the opening of all of the Walt Disney movies.

Don't forget your camera to capture the most amazing photos.

The Széchenyi Chain bridge

It connects Buda and Pest and spans the width of the River Danube. It was the first permanent bridge to run across the river and you can see breathtaking views from it.

The Széchenyi thermal bath
You cant visit Budapest and not take a trip to the thermal baths. There is a couple of different ones to choose from but we went to these because they were along the route that our hop on hop off bus drove through. It was bloody freezing the day we went but the place was still packed. Most people spend the full day here but we only stayed for about an hour as I hate sitting around when we could be visiting other places. You have to pay for a full day unless you go between the hours of 7-9am but you might like to stay here or use the spa facilities for a couple of hours anyway.

The hospital in the rock

We also done a guided tour around the Hospital in the rock nuclear bunker museum. A girl recommended it to me through snapchat and I'm really glad we did this one because it was really interesting even though it was quite sombre. It was a hospital created in the tunnels under Buda castle in preperation for the second world war and then repurposed to be a nuclear bunker. We learned a lot about the history of Budapest in general on this tour.

Shoes on the Danube

The shoes on the danube are a memorial along the the pest side of the riverbank to honor the people that were killed by fascist military men during the second world war. They were told to take their shoes off were shot at the edge of the water so they bodies would fall into the water and be swept away by the river. Its so sad to imagine this happening but its definitely another place you have to go. I would have liked to know more about this so maybe get a walking tour where this is one of the stops along the way if you have the time.

Where to eat...

The food in Budapest is amazing, I couldn't fault any place we ate at they were all lovely but the service and hospitality of waiters etc is definitely not like the Irish or other countries I have visited. It was probably the only thing I didn't like about Budapest.

The Vintage Garden ( lunch or dinner)

This was my favourite spot to eat at in Budapest. The decor is amazing and the food was lovely too. We ate here for lunch and dinner a number of times mainly because the place was so gorgeous. You might have noticed from my many snapchats and insta stories about it.

The blue bird cafe ( brunch)

Another very cute cafe. The decor is so pretty and the food comes out like masterpieces so its very insta worthy of a snap.

New york cafe (afternoon tea or dinner)

This is one of the most famous places in Budapest. Its very fancy so we went for our anniversary meal there. It was really nice and if you go walk through the hotel for a look too, its gorge!!

Attaboy (burger heaven)

This place does the best burgers!

A la maison (brunch)

Waffles, pancakes and full english breakfasts it has it all in a cute little parisian cafe.

Mr Funk ( for the sweet tooth)

If you were following my instagram posts you will see the donut milkshake. Word one "unreal".

We also ate at the market stalls one evening and at an Italian restaurant in Godza Udvar too which was lovely.

Where to drink..

Aria hotel sky bar is fab. There are two sky bars but this is definitely the better one. Cocktails are expensive here though so might be a stop just for one or two.

The ruin bars are definitely a must see as they are an experience like no other. They are basically old buildings which have been abandoned or ruined and have been turned into bars. We went to both of the ruin bars in the jewish quarter so we got the full experience.

Rumpus Tiki is amazing for cocktails and they come out in really cute little chests and cool glasses.

Grab a mulled wine at the market stalls too!!

I hope this covers most of your questions and you liked the post. If theres anything you think I left out you can message me on instagram or snapchat I will leave my handles below. Oh and enjoy Budapest if you are going or planning on taking a trip there.

Friday, 16 June 2017

Happy Friday!! Its been a week since I headed off on my sisters hen party to Vilamoura and I already have the holiday blues :(

I got so many questions whilst away that I thought it would be easier to put all my hen party tips together in one post that I could refer people too.

If its that time in your life where all your friends are getting engaged, then it must seem like there is a hen party every week!!

Like me if your lucky enough to be a bridesmaid, its hen party planning time :)

A wedding in Ireland means its the perfect excuse to plan a getaway. Any excuse for a mini holiday, right?

When you are planning a foreign hens there is no such thing as too much notice. Create a facebook group, invite the gals and let them know where you are thinking of going. Planning a hens can be stressful to say the least, so if there is a couple of bridesmaids let them take charge of one thing each. For example, one person sort accommodation another sorts activities etc.

My sister Sarah is having 4 bridesmaids, myself, my little sister Victoria and her two best friends Ingrid and Ciara. A hen party whatsapp for the bridesmaids is perfect for bouncing ideas off each other and getting creative!

We initially decided on Marbella as its somewhere Sarah always said she would have her hen party. We gave everybody 10 months notice which was more than enough time. We nearly spent every year in Marbs as kids and loved it. Before finalising anything we had another look at different destinations and it was actually our dad who suggested Vilamoura in Portugal!! We had a closer look and decided to change the location and I'm so happy we did.

Vilamoura was beautiful and I couldn't fault it. I booked our accommodation on booking.com. I always book through this website as they do some great deals. I booked 2 villas as I felt having everyone together instead of separate apartments would be more fun. We stayed at Laguna Golf resort, Vilamoura and it was gorgeous. It was a taxi ride of approx 3 minutes to the marina where we spent all of our evenings. It was also only 25 minutes in a taxi from Albufeira. I was in Albufeira 2 years ago and loved it. We didn't venture there at all this time though as I knew my sister wouldn't like it as much as the Marina but its definitely a place to check out if you are looking for a wild party night out.

Doing what the bride wants is key, as after all its her last hurrah :)

Sarah is quite easy going so we knew she wouldn't want any fuss and would want to sunbathe and enjoy the sun during the day. This was the perfect reason to source the perfect sunbathing spot and where better than a beach club!! A word of warning, a lot of the beach clubs need to be booked in advance. We had a lovely chill out day at Purobeach and although the service wasn't great it was exactly what we needed for topping up our tans :)

Most hen partys choose to book restaurants and organise set menus which can keep the price of meals down. Again we decided not to do this as we didnt want to be tied to times etc and we had a few fussy eaters going including myself! Having the choice of the full menu was ideal. All the restaurants we went to around the marina were fab and nobody had any complaints about any of the meals.

Summer season was really only kicking off when we arrived so late June to Sept would be the busiest time to go.

Our last stop every evening was a bar called the Irish pub. It had live music every evening and was basically the best atmosphere around the marina. If you are lucky enough to get a night "the Bandits" are playing you are in for a good time!

Last but not least, the finishing touches:

1. The t shirts... We got t shirts printed by robes4you. These are a nice idea for the airport.

2. Hen party survival kits...Ciara done up these bags which we gave out on the first night when we had a little party in the villa. She put in 2 painkillers, a facemask, chewing gums, a bobbin basically what you need to survive the madness of a hen party.

3. A keepsake...Lovethemugs kindly gave us personalised mugs for everyone. These were a lovely surprise for the girls as they all had a little keepsake to take home with them.

4. A reminder.. Ciara also done up a gorgeous memory book for Sarah. It was totes emosh and is such a lovely idea for the bride. Include some old pictures, along with new ones and definitely a few cringe ones thrown in for fun.

Tuesday, 13 June 2017

I have included as many links as I can for our holiday looks and some looks my sister wore as the bride. I will keep adding to it but this is all I have for now. The link for my favourite pom pom heels are below. Happy Shopping:)

Friday, 12 May 2017

Happy Sunday :) I thought I would do up a beachwear post from my hols a few weeks ago, better late than never eh? I have included links to as many of the pieces as I can. The website www.soraina.com which 2 of mine were from actually have a discount on their swimwear at the minute so if you have hols coming up now is the perfect time as they have some really fab pieces for summer.

Monday, 8 May 2017

This is probably my most requested blog post. I am just back from my friend Gills hen party and got a lot of messages about my outfits. I am going to do a different post on swim/beachwear so this post was mainly my dressier looks. I will include as many links as I can under each item and for any old items I will just link a similar one.

Hat & stripy jumpsuit @ primark

Backpack is @newlook I can't find it online should be still in stores so